25 November 2013 – On the spot in Queens, New York where the United Nations General Assembly met during the late 1940s, a Mexican artist is testing his hypothesis that ordinary people, through creative approaches, can find solutions to the challenges the world body is tackling today. One-hundred-ninety-five New Yorkers who are immigrants from or have family connections to the 193 UN Member States and two observers – State of Palestine and the Holy See – participated this weekend in ‘The People’s United Nations p(UN)’ event at the newly reopened Queens Museum. “This is a privilege to be asked to…
Author: UN News
22 November 2013 – On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, United Nations Secretary-General recalled his own “indelible” meeting as a teenager with the United States leader that inspired him to enter public service. Mr. Ban was visiting the U.S. as part of a tour organized by the Red Cross for a group of young people from around the world who had won an essay contest in 1962 and were greeted by Mr. Kennedy at the White House. “Meeting him was a turning point. His words that day on the South Lawn sparked my decision…
22 November 2013 – Created three years ago to actively support universally accepted principles in human rights, literacy, sustainability and conflict resolution, the United Nations initiative working with higher education institutions has marked its third anniversary by spotlighting efforts of students in the New York tri-state area making a difference locally and internationally. At an interactive, webcast youth forum held in the UN’s Economic and Social Council Chamber on 18 November, students from Monmouth University, Lehigh University, the Global Education Motivators, CityKids and East Stroudsburg High School detailed some of their volunteer work aimed at empowering other young people through…
13 December 2013 – The United Nations today called on all parties in Ukraine to exercise restraint amid reports of the use of excessive force by police and violent acts by demonstrators, and urged the Government to ensure that human rights safeguards are upheld. “We are following closely the events in central Kiev and warn against the risk of further escalation, violence and polarisation,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva. “We are particularly concerned at reports of the use of excessive force by riot police and violent acts…
9 December 2013 – A United Nations human rights expert and the World Medical Association (WMA) today urged the Turkish parliament to reconsider a draft law that would criminalize the provision of medical care by qualified independent practitioners during emergencies after the arrival of a state ambulance. “If adopted, Article 33 will have a chilling effect on the availability and accessibility of emergency medical care in a country prone to natural disasters and a democracy that is not immune from demonstrations,” UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover, said in a news release. “Enacting laws and policies…
8 December 2013 – With hundreds of thousands of protestors reportedly rallying anew in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, General Ban Ki-moon today appealed directly to President Victor Yanukovich for peaceful dialogue to defuse ongoing political tensions in the country. In a telephone call with the President, Mr. Ban expressed his grave concern and emphasised that there must be no resort to violence. He also welcomed President Yanukovich’s assurances that consultations would be initiated to defuse the situation, according to a readout of the conversation from Mr. Ban’s spokesperson. The wave of demonstrations was sparked by a Government decision on…
5 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today hailed the vital partnership between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), stressing in particular the regional body’s role in averting conflict and advancing peace and development. “Your contributions to security, development and human rights in the region are indispensable to prevent conflict, enhance democratic governance, accelerate disarmament and economic development, ensure women’s empowerment and counter transnational threats,” Mr. Ban said in a message to the OSCE’s 20th Ministerial Council, held in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Based in Vienna, Austria, the OSCE is the world’s largest…
2 December 2013 – Amid ongoing political protests in Ukraine, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for restraint and urged all sides to avoid further violence and uphold the democratic principles of free expression and peaceful assembly. “The Secretary-General has been closely following events in Ukraine,” said a statement issued by a spokesperson for the United Nations chief. “He appeals to all parties to act with restraint, avoid any further violence and to uphold the democratic principles of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.” According to media reports, tensions are on the rise in and around the Ukrainian capital, Kiev,…
2 December 2013 – Welcoming the peaceful conduct of local Kosovo elections, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all actors to build on the success of the polls and to continue to constructively in the European Union-facilitated dialogue on normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina. In a statement issued by his spokesperson in New York, the UN chief welcomed the peaceful conduct of the second round of local elections on Kosovo on 1 December and “is encouraged by the positive initial reports from local and international observers as well as the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).”…
23 November 2013 – Four people have been arrested for alleged witness tampering in the war crimes trial of former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, the International Criminal Court (ICC) today announced. The four men are accused of “corruptly influencing witnesses before the ICC and presenting evidence that they knew to be false or forged,” according to a news release from The Hague-based Court. It is alleged that the suspects were part of a network for the purposes of presenting false or forged documents and bribing certain persons to give false testimony in the case against Mr. Bemba, whose trial…
22 November 2013 – The United Nations-backed International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea today ordered that Russia release the Greenpeace ship and its crew that it seized in September following a protest over oil drilling off its coast, once the Netherlands posts a bond of 3.6 million euros. The Arctic Sunrise – an icebreaker operated by the environmental group and which flies the flag of the Netherlands – was boarded by Russian officials on 19 September, brought to the port of Murmansk Oblast and detained. Last month, the Netherlands instituted arbitral proceedings against Russia under the UN Convention…
21 November 2013 – Saying they themselves had received threats, United Nations human rights experts today called on the Government of the Netherlands to facilitate the growing national debate on whether the portrayal of a servant in an age-old Christmas parade perpetuates a negative stereotype of Africans and people of African descent. A person representing Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) enters Dutch towns every 6 December accompanied by Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), his servant, in a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. “We have received complaints from individuals and civil society organizations in the Netherlands who consider that…
19 November 2013 – The United Nations pledged full cooperation today with the European Union (EU) in tackling the “critical and broadly more challenging phase” confronting Kosovo after the “essential step forward” achieved through municipal elections earlier this month. The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has been assisting the EU-led political process in implementing the 19 April Agreement on Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations between Pristina and Belgrade, which included the Kosovo-wide poll in both the ethnic Albanian-majority south and the ethnic Serb-majority north. “In particular, the mission is making this support available to the newly elected…
16 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has deplored the shooting on Sunday of an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldier by a Lebanese soldier, and called for calm. The shooting occurred in the vicinity of the so-called Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon at Naqoura, according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson. “The Israel Defence Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces are cooperating with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to ascertain the facts,” the spokesperson stated. “The Secretary-General reminds the Lebanese Armed Forces of their responsibilities under Security Council resolution 1701 and strongly urges both…
13 December 2013 – Syrians continue to fall victim to a callous indifference towards human life and disregard for safety, exemplified by the increasing trend of abductions and enforced disappearances, the United Nations human rights chief warned today. “In just the past few months, we have seen a significant and deeply alarming rise in abductions of human rights defenders, activists, journalists, religious figures and others by armed opposition groups, as well as the continuing arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances of individuals by Government forces in Syria,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a news release. “I urge…
13 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the international community to hold accountable those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, following the findings of a United Nations team that such weapons were used on several occasions at multiple sites against both civilians and military targets. “The international community has a moral and political responsibility to hold accountable those responsible, to deter future incidents and to ensure that chemical weapons can never re-emerge as an instrument of warfare,” he told the General Assembly as he presented to it the final report of the team led…
12 December 2013 – The United Nations and its humanitarian partners are ramping up efforts to assist more than 800,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are facing the onslaught of cold weather, rains and snowfall as a massive winter storm named “Alexa” moves across the region. The storm struck Lebanon Tuesday night, bringing snow to higher areas and torrential rain elsewhere, accompanied by high winds. Conditions are similarly grim according to reports from neighbouring Syria and Turkey. With the support of the Lebanese Armed Forces, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and partners were able to speed up the…
12 December 2013 – The United Nations team probing the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which in September found “clear and convincing evidence” of Sarin gas attacks against civilians, including children, in the Damascus area, today reported “credible information” that such weapons were used against soldiers and civilians in other parts of the country. “The United Nations Mission collected credible information that corroborates the allegations that chemical weapons were used in Khan Al Asal on 19 March 2013 against soldiers and civilians,” according to the final report, which team leader Dr. Åke Sellström handed over to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon…
11 December 2013 – A senior United Nations humanitarian official today voiced concern as Israeli demolitions in the Jordan Valley resulted in the displacement of 41 people, including 24 children, some of whom were uprooted for the second time this month. “I am concerned about the destruction of Palestinian structures in the Jordan Valley yesterday, resulting in the forced eviction, displacement and dispossession of vulnerable Palestinians. Such actions cause human suffering. They also run counter to international law,” said the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, James W. Rawley. Both refugee and non-refugee families were affected by the…
10 December 2013 – As the Syrian crisis passes the tragic 1,000-day mark, the United Nations refugee agency is working hard to meet the “immense needs” of desperate communities there, including across lines in conflict zones and in neighbouring countries, while also bracing for what meteorologists predict could be the region’s harshest winter in a century. “This winter is forecast to be one of the harshest in 100 years, meteorologists are saying, and so UNHCR had started its winter programme earlier this year,” Amin Awad, the Syria Refugee Response Coordinator for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a…